Rocky got hurt at the Groomers

[Patty]

I took Rocky to a local pet store to be groomed last Friday. They have a Puppy Package and I thought it would be a good idea to expose him to that. Upon picking him up, the girl that groomed him told me he did great and he was the biggest sweet heart!

So after I got him home, I noticed that he was limping. I checked him out and couldn’t figure out what was bothering him. I called the store to ask if anything had happened. They told me that he might have slipped in the bath tub. She went on to say that they have a vet there and I could bring him in. Of course I took him. Rocky made no verbal sounds while being poked and stretched. The Vet thinks it’s a soft tissue problem. She gave him an anti inflammatory shot and pills to take home. They did draw blood to make sure that was ok. They told us to restrict his activity and bring him back in 2 weeks at which point, if he’s still having problems, they will sedate him and do x-rays.

As of this morning, he’s still the same. He can walk using that leg but he’s still limping and when he’s just standing, he lifts that leg.

If he's still not better by this Friday, should I take him back for x-rays? Any advice would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks,

Patty

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

I have had many mishaps with the previous groomer that I was using for Blake including: clipper burn, scratched cornea, cuts & bruises etc. Each time things happened the owner of the grooming establishment reimbursed me for the vet bills....I would insist on that if I were you as it is their neglegence that resulted in Rocky's injury!.... and I would definitely take him for an x-ray...although if it is soft tissue damage, it will not show up and may require the doggie equivalent of an MRI or CAT scan...

I would also consider finding a new groomer.....I can tell you from experience that one injury almost always leads to another if you stay with that groomer.....If they injure him once they will almost certainly injure him again...

[Patty]

The store is picking up the bill for the Vet and needless to say, I will never go there again.

Do you think I should give it a few more days, before insisting on the xray?

[Patty]

It sure was. What happened with your girls?

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

Oh poor Rocky, he looks so sad in his picture. I would insist on my own vet, not sure if the vet at Petsmart may not tell the truth trying to cover for the groomer. I sure hope he is better.

[Debbie & Cotton Clegg]

Cotton was groomed at Petsmart just once. Never again. She ended up with an ear infection from water in her ear. Even I know better than to allow water in their ears when bathing.

[Mommy2Max]

I feel the same way about those BIG box pet stores. I took Max in just for them to eyeball my claw clipping I had done the day before (Max has brown claws.) One girl trimmed a few that could have been shorter. She was not too thrilled about Max squirming. Grant it - I find his squirming uncomfortable when trying to clip his nails but, she is a trained groomer. Max was in my arms and he was only 13 weeks old. It was only his second claw clipping. I thought that they were all to impatient and perhaps unexperienced to groom him. Not to mention one girl suggested a poodle cut - LOL. I ran for the hills.

~Danielle

[Patty]

Rest assured, I will never go there again for grooming!
One thing that struck me as unusual when I went to pick him up from being groomed, the girl sitting at the desk needed somebody else to get him from the kennal cuz "He's too big for me,"
I really did like the Vet and felt she was very thorough. Just worried about my boy.
Thanks for all of your input!
Patty

[Paula]

Bringing him back in 2 weeks is certainly unsatisfactory. And yes there are many injuries that will not show on plain radiographs and perhaps not even initial MRI's. Hopefully it's just as simple as a sprain and he will be better in a short time. Not that a sprain in itself is totally without lingering problems.
I'd want to be feeling very confident with what their Vet is advising. And if I wasn't I would feel that I would need to have my Vet check him out whether they were going to cover the costs or not. Boy there's always something coming up. But this is important to be dealt with both properly and promptly.
Also, there are a great many non-radiopaque foreign bodies. Much of the time the radiograph's best case scenario is asscertaining mild to gross soft tissue swelling either as a result of an injury or around a foreign body of some sort.
My husband's extra large female Bouvier began compulsively licking her rght front paw two months ago. Finally we felt it and found a large marble sized lump high up in the webb area. It grew larger she kept licking. The Vet suggested epsom salt soaks for a week because to open up and dig and in there for "something" not visible on film is a mess; alot of bleeding and tissue damage.
Left with no choice he did do the surgery, he never did find anything in it except for a huge blood clot which needed to be lanced and excised and stitched for 2 full weeks, a great many stitches anterior and posterior. We searched and searched til we found something resembling an umpire's face cover. She does not leave wounds a stitches alone. The Vet concluded that the clot was either the result of a severe enough trauma to inflict such damage alone or accompanied by insertion of some foreign body which pierced at the time. The reason I'm elaborating on this lengthy paw cicumstance and surgery story is; you guessed it...............because she had just been groomed about a week or less before he noticed her licking excessively her wounded paw. I must add that she is nearly impossible to get to hold still, and hang on to her feet to work on them always was, she just hates people touching her feet. All the groomers complain about what a hard time she gave them. This one had not. Don't any groomers out there take what I'm saying and implying the wrong way . That's not exactly the point I'm trying to make. Some dogs are hard to manage in varying degrees. I attempt to do some of my 2 puppies' grooming myself. I can't handle her because she especially fights me.

[Zoe, Benny and Tyler]

Oh, what a story. I think they must have realized already at Petsmart that he was limping or did it start only at home? To be honest I wouldn't have a good feeling to go "their" vet and would only trust my vet I always consult.
I am not sure about the X-rays as I don't like the idea of sedating and would only agree to x-rays if it is really necessary and not avoidable. Of course I would be worried also but I would try a consult at your regular vet first.

[Janie]

I would not wait the two weeks before getting x-rays.I would assuredly get a second vet to look at him!

[Elizabeth]

I am sorry to year about what happened. with your dog at Petsmart. I take my dog to Petsmart in Coon Rapids, MN. I use a woman named Kim. She pretty much only does Goldendoodles and poodles. She is really good with Sophie, and she has large dogs herself &knows how to handle them. I don't let anyone else groom her. She usually takes 3 hours to do Sophie. She is sensitive to Sophie's needs. She always had an assistant when Sophie was blind because she would not see the edge of the table and could potentially hurt herself. I would highly recommend her to anyone. I hope you find a groomer you like! Good luck, and I would use your own vet- they're concern is for your dog (not for the company). I hope everythign works out well..

[LeAnn, Lucy & Rusty!!]

If your dog were human, I would tell you to RICE (rest, ice, compress and elevate)... keep taking the antiinflammatories and if it's not better in 72 hours - have an xray. So.. I'm gonna stick with what I know works on humans.. soft tissue injuries are really inflammation and it's the swelling that causes most of the pain. I would confine your little honey, try to apply some ice (bags of frozen peas work great) at least once every 2 hours if he'll let you... not sure I'd compress because he can't tell you if it's too tight... and not sure HOW i'd elevate it.. mmmmm... here's a link to the RICE concept.

Don't wait until Friday because IF they do need to do anything you're looking at "weekend staffing" at the vets - which means limited support. Do RICE and if he's not better take him in Thursday morning.

Good luck and Lucy, Rusty and I are so sorry this happened to Rocky...